Love Conquers All Or Does It?
by RiTaFeLToN
Summary: Its the beginning of Hermione's fifth year at Hogwarts. She expects this year to be just like the last four. She didn’t expect anything to change, until she finds true love--with Draco Malfoy! She falls for him, but then he tells her something about h
1. Harry, Hermione, and Draco

~~ Hello everyone, I wrote this story a while back, and it was my first one, so at the beginning its kind of corny, but don't worry! The plot gets way better towards the middle and it gets really sad, and really cute. Here's a summary: 

Hermione goes to school having grown up a lot, and not really expecting anything new to happen (other than her usual adventures with Harry and Ron, of course). However, something new does happen, she finds something that she had never even been close to finding before now-- love. Draco Malfoy is the perfect guy for her, but what will happen when she finds out the truth about him? 

Hermione stood patiently waiting for Harry and Ron at platform 9 ¾. After a while, she saw them running toward her and smiled broadly. They looked very different from when she had last seen them the year before. They looked much older and more sophisticated. As they got closer to her, she realized the looks on their faces changed. Apparently, they could see that she had changed a lot over the summer too. 

When they got close enough, Hermione saw the look on their faces and frowned, but was slightly happy inside. Ron was looking at her as though he hadn't eaten in days and she was a huge dinner just sitting there. Harry however looked at her in a different way. He looked nervous and tried to smooth his hair when he saw her. 

After a couple of minutes of them standing there staring at her, Hermione said "why don't we go and get ourselves a place on the train?" Harry and Ron nodded and followed her onto the platform. As soon as they got on the train, they noticed that it was overflowing with kids and that there was no way they could get a compartment to themselves. What was worse is that the only place available was with Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle. 

After much hesitation, the three walked into the compartment malfoy was in. Draco saw them and said, "Potter! Weasley! What are you doing in MY compartment?" 

"I don't see your name on it!" Ron said

Just then Draco saw Hermione and his jaw dropped. 

"What are you looking at?!?" Harry screamed.

Hermione blushed and said, "oh, come on cant we just-"

Just then, the lady with the food trolley came walking by. "Hello dears, you six will probably have to sit with each other, as you can see, there's not much room on the train this year" 

Draco took this as an excuse to sit next to Hermione, he didn't know why he wanted to but he just couldn't help looking at her and smiling. 

Crabbe and Goyle started talking to each other in their piggish way, Ron started talking to Harry about Quidditch, so Draco and Hermione were left to talk to each other. Hermione noticed the difference in Draco too. He was taller, his hair was shorter and he had it spiked, his eyes had more depth, and she couldn't help think that he was pretty good-looking. 

The only conversation between them at first was the "hello" that Hermione said. Then there was a long silence. Draco was tempted to ignore her or call her a mudblood just like he would've done last year or any time before that, but his heart was beating so quickly that he couldn't say anything at all. Finally, he managed to get out a small "hi."

Hermione was obviously trying to be friendly because she kept asking Draco questions like "how was your summer?" or "do you think this year will be more challenging?" and once she even asked " what do you think about the way house-elves are treated?" Draco finally managed to slow his heart down and was able to answer "good" "yes" and "I don't know."

Hermione couldn't seem to start good conversation, but she didn't know if she should be relieved or frustrated. She decided to be quiet for the rest of the trip, but constantly noticed Draco looking at her, and she couldn't help but look back and smile. 

As they were getting off the train, Hermione found herself holding hands with Draco. She hadn't even realized this and wondered how long she had been doing it. She quickly let go, but then regretted it. Hermione knew this was ridiculous and shook her head. She looked over at Draco and when she saw his face, she got a horrible feeling in the pit of her stomach. He was looking at the hand that Hermione had been holding, but he too must have realized that this was ridiculous, because he shook his head and walked away with Crabbe and Goyle. 

At the great hall that day, Hermione sat down with Harry and Ron. She and Ron were talking and having a good time. Hermione noticed that Harry wasn't talking. Instead, he was sitting quietly, picking at his food. "Is something wrong?" Hermione asked him. Suddenly, Harry stood up and lost his temper. " Is something wrong?!? Is something wrong?!?" he screamed. Ron was looking a bit uncomfortable and he tried to get Harry to calm down. Harry only got even angrier. "I'll tell you what's wrong Hermione! You! You and Draco! I can't believe this! My best friend with my worst enemy! How could you do this?" everyone in the great hall, who had been staring at them, now shifted their eyes to Draco Malfoy. 

Hermione just stared at Harry. After a moment of silence she grabbed his arm and took him outside. As soon as they left, they could hear the whispering of the other students in the hall. Hermione let go of his arm and asked, "what is wrong with you?" 

"I already told you" Harry mumbled. 

"Harry what are you talking about?" 

"don't act like you don't know! I saw you in the train! I saw how you two talked to each other and looked at each other! I saw you holding hands! Don't try to hide it Hermione!" 

"Oh, Harry don't be silly-"

"How am I being silly, Hermione? What is silly about this?"

Hermione ran back to Hogwarts, and didn't talk to Harry or Ron for the rest of the day.

The next day Hermione walked to Potions by herself. On the way there she met Draco. At first, she tried to avoid him, but then realized that he was coming towards her, so she started walking to him too. When he got to her, he took her into an empty classroom and said "Listen, I'm really sorry about yesterday."

"why are you sorry?" Hermione asked.

"well-I'm sorry for making Potter mad at you."

"oh, that… well don't worry about that, it wasn't your fault"

"oh, ok then" 

" well I'd better get to class now,"

"yea, but just one other thing,"

"what is it?"

"well…I'm sorry for…um…,"

Hermione nodded encouragingly.

"for giving you a hard time these last four years and for calling you…_mudblood"_

"oh….um…I guess its alright now that you've apologized" Hermione said. Draco smiled at her and she returned that smile and headed for the door. She paused and looked at Draco, he walked up to her and held her hands. They stood there looking at each other for a while until Hermione said "oh, my! Look at the time! I'm late for class!" and she ran out the door. Draco stood there by himself for a long time, thinking and smiling to himself. 


	2. Draco and Hermione

When Hermione walked into Potions, she realized two things: 1. They had a substitute teacher and 2. Harry wasn't there. Ron was there however, and Hermione went and sat next to him. 

"where's Harry?" she asked. 

"looking for you! Where have you been?" Ron said 

"I needed some alone time" she didn't think this was the best time to say that she was in an empty classroom with Draco Malfoy. 

That night in the common room Hermione waited for Harry and Ron to get back from dinner (she hadn't been very hungry). When they got back they were arguing. They looked up and saw Hermione. Ron elbowed Harry and then they were both quiet. 

Later that night Harry went to sleep and Ron stayed to finish up some homework. After Harry had gone into his dormitory, Ron went over to Hermione and said " he's very mad, you know,"

"What? Why is he mad now?" 

"about today in Potions when you were late"

"he's mad because I was late?"

"no! he's mad because Draco was late too,"

"oh! Ron!"

"I know it sounds ridiculous, but he's going crazy! He thinks you will become the kind of girl that hangs out with Pansy Parkinson or something like that,"

"but you know that's insane!"

"well…I dunno really, "

"Ron!" she yelled and she ran into her dormitory angrily

"why do I always get caught in the middle of things?" 

The next morning, Hermione tired desperately to avoid Harry and Ron, but wasn't very successful. As she was going into the Great Hall for breakfast, she met Harry. "where's Ron?" Hermione asked.

"He's waiting in there for me! I said I was going to the bathroom!"

"oh, alright, do you want me to walk you there?"

"no! you just don't get it do you?" Harry yelled

"get what?"

"I came to talk to you!"

"ok about what?"

Harry took Hermione into the same classroom she had been in with Draco and sat her down on a chair. "Hermione, I know that …. I know that you like Draco" Harry's face twisted and looked as though he was going through an internal struggle. Hermione was silent. "but there's something you need to know"

"what is it?"

"well… I…"

"You what?"

After a moment Harry said in a very quiet, rushed voice "I like you too"

"well, I know you like me, Harry,"

"I like you as more than a friend Hermione!"

"oh, I see… "

They were silent for a long time, and then finally Hermione said, "well I'm very hungry, I should go get some food,"

"wait…"

"yes?" Hermione asked

"well aren't you going to…"

"what?"

"break up with Draco?"

Then, Hermione realized something. She didn't know if she was with Draco, she thought she wanted to be, but she didn't know if she was his girlfriend, or if she was just assuming things. 

"Harry," she said, 

"I'm… oh… I just don't know Harry!"

And she stormed out of the room.

That night, Hermione was thinking about so many things. She was thinking about Harry and how she hadn't noticed it before. When he first saw her, how he was trying to smooth his hair, and how he got extremely mad after the train ride, and when she was late for potions. It seemed so obvious now. Hermione was also busy thinking about Draco, and if she really was his girlfriend, or if he just always held a girls hands when he was apologizing for something. "But why would he apologize if he didn't like me, even if its just a little bit"

She was going down to breakfast the next morning when someone grabbed her and took her into an empty closet. Hermione screamed, but someone had their hand over her mouth. The hand let go and Hermione turned around to see that it was--

****

__Draco Malfoy__ 

"what are you doing?" Hermione asked

"I'm sorry I didn't mean to scare you," Draco said

"oh, its alright, what are you doing?" she repeated. 

"I need to tell you something, well, I like you a lot, and I'm really sorry about, Potter and Weasley, and that I am their enemy,"

Hermione just stared.

"but I just need to know if you like me, because if you do, then I'll try to get along with them, because I like you" then Draco blushed madly and looked down at his feet. 

"oh Draco, so much has happened lately, and I don't know how I will be able to handle it all, you see, I like you too--"

"oh, you do? Thank goodness, it would have been really awkward if you didn't--"

"Draco, I really do like you, a lot, but it just all happened really quickly, and I don't know how I've come to this, I never thought I would fall in love with--"

"love? You love me Hermione?" 

now it was Hermione's turn to blush "well, I just meant that-"

"don't worry, I know how you feel, I never thought this would happen either, it just did, and we have to deal with it, I know we should be together Hermione, I just know it!"

"oh Draco!" and then Hermione hugged Draco and held on for a long, long time. 

Finally, they separated. "Draco, I need to tell you something," Hermione said at last. 

"what is it?"

"well… Harry likes me"

"Potter? He likes you? He REALLY likes you, likes you?"

"yes I'm afraid so"

Draco just stood there, Hermione knew this would make him hate Harry even more, but she had to tell him. 

After a long while, Draco said "and how do you feel about him?"

"oh! No, of course not, no, I just told you that I like you"

Draco gave a smile "good, because I don't know what I would've done if you liked Harry too"

"well, this is still a problem,"

"oh, I know, but not a very big one right?"

"well, yes actually, Harry expects me to break up with you,"

"WHAT?? WHY WOULD HE EXPECT YOU TO DO THAT? JUST BECAUSE YOU ARE HIS FRIEND DOESN'T MEAN YOU SHOULD GIVE SOMETHING UP!"

"I know Draco, but Harry is one of my best friends, and now he likes me, and this must be very, very hard on him, because we've known each other for four years and you have been his enemy for four years and now we are getting together, it must be very difficult"

They were silent for a little bit, but then Draco walked up to Hermione and held her hands. He then looked into her eyes, and she felt as though he could see right through her, that he could feel her pain and know exactly what she's going through. Then Draco bent down slightly and kissed her, just a small kiss on her lips and then he backed away, but still held her hands. Hermione looked into his eyes and felt the urge to get closer and kiss him just like he had done to her. She took a small step forward and looked up at him, but then she thought of how Harry would feel if he knew she were in an empty closet, kissing Draco Malfoy, and she backed away.

"What's wrong?" Draco asked.

She just stood there and smiled at him, and he smiled back. Finally, they had to leave the closet. They hugged each other and left, both of them smiling. 


	3. Harry wants Hermione

In the common room that night, Hermione was doing her homework. She had a lot and couldn't seem to concentrate. Her mind kept replaying what had happened that day with Draco. Harry and Ron had gone to sleep already, and there were only a few people left in the room. Hermione also kept thinking about what had happened with Harry, and how he expected her to break up with Draco. Well, when this had happened, she wasn't sure about how Draco felt about her, but now she knew. She knew that Draco liked her, and she knew that she wanted to be with Draco, not Harry. 

She would have to tell Harry this, she would tell him that she wouldn't break up with Draco and that she really liked him. "Harry has to know" she kept telling herself. Hermione noticed that Hedwig had flew into the room and was pecking at her knee. This gave Hermione an idea. "I'm going to have to do it sooner or later" she thought. She grabbed a small piece of parchment and scribbled down on it: 

__

Harry, 

Meet me tonight at 12:00 in the transfiguration classroom, it will be empty.

With love, 

Hermione

She had to think about writing 'with love' because she didn't want Harry to get the wrong idea, but she kept it there anyways, because she did love Harry, but not in the way that he wanted her to. She tied the note to Hedwig and watched her fly out into the sky. Hermione only hoped that Harry would get the note before midnight. 

At 11:30 that night Hermione set off for the transfiguration room. She had seen no sign of Harry, but went anyways. At 11:55 she started pacing around the room, she hoped Harry had gotten the note. At 12:20 Hermione thought about going back to the common room and just talking to Harry tomorrow. She decided to wait 10 more minutes and if he didn't show up, she would leave. Just then, Hermione felt something on her back. She turned around but didn't see anything. She sighed and headed for the door, she was going to go to sleep and talk to Harry tomorrow. The door, which had been slightly open, just enough to bring in a little bit of light, closed. "Oh my goodness! Peeves is that you?" but then she realized that it couldn't be Peeves, she would have seen him. But what could've closed the door without her seeing it? Then, the thought came to her. 

"Harry!"

At the exact same time she said this, she saw Harry's face appear in front of her. Then, she saw his whole body appear. She was so shocked that she couldn't say anything. Before she had a chance to take in what was happening, Harry stepped up to her and kissed her. This kiss, however, was much more passionate than the kiss Draco had given her. When Hermione finally pulled away, she just stared at Harry. She was intending to slap him, but something stopped her. "Harry! What do you think you are doing? You can't just come in your invisibility cloak and start kissing me before I even realize what your doing!"

Harry leaned forward and kissed her again.

This time, when Hermione backed away, she stepped back quite a bit. "Harry stop that!"

"why? You broke up with Draco right? So there's nothing wrong with this."

"yes Harry! There is something wrong with this! This is really, really wrong! Even if I had broken up with Draco this would be wrong!"

" 'IF you had broken up with Draco?' So you didn't break up with him?"

"No! and I wont! Especially after this!"

"oh I get it! You are just staying together with him to make me mad?? That's it, isn't it?"

"Now, Harry! Why would I do that?"

"I dunno, why haven't you broken up with him yet?"

"I'm not going to break up with him, Harry! I really like him,"

"WHAT? I THINK I MAY BE HEARING THINGS, DID YOU JUST SAY THAT YOU REALLY LIKE HIM?"

"Harry, keep your voice down" Hermione whispered, but Harry was very mad. He went on yelling for a while, but Hermione wasn't worried about being caught; she had cast a spell so that no one could hear him but herself. 

"Harry, just try to calm down, I know this must be very hard for you, but try to understand,"

After a long, long time Harry started to calm down. Hermione tried to explain that she liked Draco a lot and that Draco was really nice to her, and that he said he would try to get along with Harry and Ron. Harry wasn't going to accept the idea of her and his arch-enemy getting together, but he was settling down a bit, and was actually listening to what Hermione was saying. 

Time passed quickly after that, and they stayed in that classroom talking until 8:30 the next morning. Neither of them noticed the time until Professor McGonagall was unlocking the door for her first class. Hermione and Harry got under the cloak very quickly and waited in the corner. They didn't know what they were waiting for, they knew that when this class was over, another class would come in. They knew that McGonagall never left the classroom, except for meals and emergencies, and they couldn't wait until lunch. (breakfast had already passed.) 

They decided it was best to wait until the class was leaving and slip out with them, while under the cloak. 

It seemed like hours before the class left. Hermione was feeling very uncomfortable having to be standing right next to Harry under this cloak. She wouldn't have minded at all any other day, but today, after what had just happened, she would much rather be here with Ron, or anyone else for that matter. 

When the class finally did leave, Hermione had to pinch Harry to get him to realize that they had to go now. They stood behind all of the students and waited for the last one to pass through the door, then before the door shut, they slipped through it without having to touch it. 

****

Harry and Hermione got their bags from their dormitories and went to charms. Hermione thought about sitting with Draco, but decided it would be best if she sat with her usual friends. Crabbe and Goyle were already surrounding Draco anyway. He didn't look too comfortable, and when he saw Hermione walk in, he smiled. She hated to sit away from him, but she knew it would attract a lot of attention, and she couldn't do that. Pansy Parkinson was sure to get in the middle of things, so instead, Hermione decided to write a note to Draco. She took out a piece of parchment and put it on her lap. She wrote:

__

[I] Dear Draco,[/I]

Hermione sat there, trying to think. She couldn't. Nothing came to her. After 5 minutes she added:

__

[I] How are you doing? I've missed you. Meet me tonight in the Transfiguration classroom at 10:00.

Love, Hermione [/I]

She tapped the parchment with her wand and said "infamion: Draco Malfoy." The parchment disappeared from her hand, and appeared in Draco's. Crabbe and Goyle noticed this. Crabbe just shrugged and started looking longingly at a doughnut Professor Flitwick was holding. Goyle, however, looked at the note and then at Draco. Draco was shocked at first, and started to open it, but then saw Goyle looking, and said "Goyle, I heard that there's a candy castle in the boys bathroom!" Goyle immediately raised his hand, asking to use the restroom. Professor Flitwick reluctantly let him go, but told him to be back soon. Goyle ran out the door. Draco looked around to make sure no one was looking and slowly, carefully opened the note. 

He read it over twice, looked up at Hermione, and smiled. He hoped this would tell her that he would come that night. She smiled back, and continued her work. 

Back in the Gryffindor common room, Hermione anxiously waited for the time to pass. Harry seemed to suspect something, because he kept looking up at her from his work. Finally, he and Ron went to sleep. Hermione went up to her dormitory too, just to make Harry feel better. She knew this would only make him madder if he found out, but she would just have to make sure he didn't find out. 

An hour later Hermione went down into the common room. The only people left were Fred and George. They were in the corner, apparently inventing something. (There was smoke coming up from the middle of them.) Hermione smiled at them, they were too busy trying to conceal what they had done to ask what she was doing. She walked out of the common room and headed for the Transfiguration classroom. 

30

When she got there she saw Draco standing right outside the door. "It's locked," he told her. 

"Oh…the classrooms are never locked at night, do you think we should find somewhere else?" 

"Yea, ok"

They looked around for a while, but all of the classrooms were locked. Hermione suggested the closet that Draco had taken her into a couple of days ago. They went in there and just sat for a while. Draco then said, "so, where were you today? In the morning, you weren't in Care of Magical Creatures." 

"oh, y-yes, well… I had been s-studying last night, r-really late, and I accidentally overslept" Hermione stuttered "sorry," she added. 

"oh, its alright, I was just wondering that's all, don't worry about it," 

Hermione felt so guilty, she didn't want to lie to Draco. He was being so sweet to her, and so caring. She hated lying like this, but she couldn't tell him about Harry, it would make things even worse. 

Draco and Hermione talked for hours. They talked about classes, friends, Quidditch, and then they started talking about themselves. Draco kept telling Hermione how incredibly pretty she was, and Hermione kept telling Draco about how sweet he was, and how she was so sorry for misjudging him the last four years. They went on and on, never getting bored or tired, never noticing the time. After what seemed like 5 minutes, they heard people in the corridors saying things like "I'm so hungry" or "I wonder what's for breakfast today," Hermione looked at Draco, and he stood up. After he helped pull her to her feet, they stood there waiting until the hall seemed quiet enough that they could come out and not be noticed. They waited for a long time, the halls seemed never empty. Finally, Hermione whispered, "do you have any idea how and when we can get out of here," Draco shook his head. They stood there in silence, waiting for some way of getting out of this closet. Both of their stomachs were growling now, and they were getting very uncomfortable. 

Hermione sat down on the floor again and sighed. "don't worry Hermione," Draco said, trying to comfort her. "oh, its just that we have a herbology test today and its 50% of our grade, I can't imagine what it would do to my grade if I missed it," Hermione put her head in her hands and stared at the floor. Draco sat down in front of her. He looked deep into her eyes and said, "don't worry, Hermione, I'll find some way to get us out of here without anybody noticing, and without you missing your test," Hermione looked back at him, and he wiped away a tear that had started pouring down her cheek. She smiled slightly and said in a low voice, 

"thanks, Draco" Draco came a little closer to Hermione and kissed her on the cheek. At this, Hermione started crying even more. 

"what's wrong?" Draco asked, trying to quiet her down.

"oh, its just that I never thought I would find someone like you,"

Draco smiled at her and said "come on, lets think of a way to get us out of here."

Hey everyone~ Thanks for the reviews. Yea, in the books Hermione does like Ron, but I wanted to do something with Draco, so I did this instead. I don't really know who the substitute was, I guess it could've been Prof. Binns. LoL, I don't really know. Thanks for reading!!!! 


	4. An Agreement Is Made

****

ok, I have been forgetting to do this but here it is.

Disclaimer: The characters, settings, and anything else you may recognize from the _Harry Potter _books are owned by the amazingly brilliant Joanne Kathleen Rowling. The plot belongs to me. I have no copyright or trademark on it and no money is being made. Ok, I think that's it…

~~~~~~Hey everyone~~~~ 

Ok, I'm so, so, so, so sorry for taking so long to post another chapter! This website was confusing me and then I got frustrated and forgot all about this fic. Well, I have a lot of it written now and I hope you like it! Thanks to everyone for reviewing! All reviews are welcome: praise, constructive criticism, or flames. 

After a little while, Draco suggested that they wait until the first class starts and then go but after tears started coming down Hermione's cheeks again he realized that if they did this, she would miss the beginning of her class. Then Hermione said "if only we had Harry's cloak,"

"what?" Draco seemed shocked at first, but then said "oh yea, the invisibility cloak," He seemed to be remembering the time in Hogsmeade that Harry had entertained himself by playing a joke on Malfoy while under his Invisibility Cloak.

"yea, maybe I could try a summoning spell, and bring it in here through this window,"

"Hermione, that's a great idea,"

"but I don't know if I could get it here all the way from the boys dormitory, and without people noticing it, that's not very likely,"

"Hermione, you are really great at these kinds of things, just try your best,"

"oh, alright" she took out her wand and said "_Accio Invisibility Cloak" _

"do you think it worked?" Draco asked her.

"I really don't know, it will be a couple of minutes before it gets here, if it did work,"

The time couldn't possibly have gone any slower. It seemed like hours, but finally they saw something zooming across the sky in their direction. It looked like a huge bird, but as it got closer, they realized it was the cloak. "Hermione, you did it!!" Draco smiled and hugged her very tightly. She was extremely happy herself, and hugged him just as hard. When the cloak was even closer Hermione looked at it and said, "oh my goodness, its coming here at incredible speed, if it keeps going at this rate it could hurt us," 

Draco, who was still hugging her, moved her into the very corner of the closet and said "it'll do less damage to you now." She smiled at him, and kept watching the cloak "oh, its almost here, if only we could find some way to-" BOOM!

Hermione went unconscious as the invisibility cloak whizzed into the closet and the door flung open. Dumbledore, McGonagall, and Bundis (their new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher) walked in. Draco realized he must be under the cloak, because McGonagall and Bundis were looking all around, from wall to wall, never looking straight at him or Hermione. Draco noticed that Dumbledore looked straight at him for a split second with a questioning look and then smiled and looked away. He looked at the other teachers and said "well, I don't know what caused the sound that we heard, but I'm sure it is nothing to worry about," 

"but Albus," McGonagall started, but Dumbledore put up his hand to stop her and led them out of the closet, as he was leaving, he looked back into the closet and winked at Draco. 

Draco slowly stood up, lifting Hermione with him. She slowly woke up and looked up at Draco, "what happened?" she asked. Draco told her all about the cloak flying in and how Dumbledore seemed to see right through the cloak. Hermione smiled up at him and said "thanks,"

"for what?" asked Draco.

"for trying to make sure that it didn't hurt me,"

Draco bent down as if to kiss her, when the door flung open again.

Dumbledore stepped into the closet but didn't look at all surprised when he saw them. He just stood there, his eyes twinkling behind his half-moon spectacles, and said "You might want to leave now, no one will notice, just stay under the cloak, and get to class, hurry up…" and he opened the door for them to leave, and closed the door after them. They had to separate to go to their classes. They got out from under the cloak, and went off in different directions. Hermione kept the cloak in her bag, so she could return it to Harry's bag without anyone noticing a thing, and sped off to herbology. 

When she got there, Harry and Ron were already sitting at their usual table with Seamus Finnigan. There was no room for Hermione there, so she sadly went and sat with Lavender Brown and Parvati Patil. Ron looked up from the table, and Hermione could see that he would rather sit with her than Seamus. Hermione forced herself to smile at him, to tell him that she didn't blame him, and that she would rather sit with him too. The class went unusually slow that day. Hermione couldn't concentrate on the test, and kept having to look up and tell Lavender and Parvati to be quiet. She knew she wasn't doing well on this test, but it didn't bother her. She was too busy thinking about her friendship with Harry and Ron. 

After class, Hermione walked to Harry and Ron's table "hi" she said. "how do you two think you did on the test?" Harry didn't answer and Ron just said "alright." They walked back to the common room very quietly. Finally, right before they said the password to the fat lady, Ron yelled, "Will you two just do something? Talk it over! You're driving me crazy!!" Harry and Hermione looked at him and then at each other. Ron said the password and went into the common room, leaving them outside the picture of the fat lady. "He's right, you know," Hermione said at last. 

"About what?" Harry asked.

"Everything! We are driving him crazy, and this is driving me crazy too Harry!"

"How do you think I feel?"

They talked and talked, sitting right outside the portrait of the fat lady. After about an hour they came up with an agreement: Harry would try to get along with Draco, if Hermione promised still to be best friends with Harry and Ron, no matter who she went out with. ^_^

They went into the common room and found Ron sitting on a chair by the fire, talking to Fred and George. They walked up to him and Hermione tapped him on the shoulder. He said, "Did you work something out?" Harry and Hermione both said "yes." 

"Well ?" Ron asked anxiously. They explained everything to Ron and he said, "Why didn't you morons think of that earlier?" Hermione and Harry knew he was joking so they all went up to their dormitories and fell asleep. 

The next morning, Hermione got out of bed to find Lavender Brown and Parvati Patil blocking the door out of the dormitory. "Hey guys, what are you doing?" she asked sleepily. 

"We need to know a few things," Parvati said

"About you…. and someone else" Lavender added

"What is it?" asked Hermione

"Well, what's going on with you?" said Parvati 

"Well, I was sleeping and now I'm awake and trying to get down to have breakfast, that's what's going on, really" Hermione said, starting to get annoyed.

"Hermione, we're serious, what's happening with you and… and." Lavender trailed off.

"Malfoy!" Parvati finished for her.

"Oh, well, I don't think that's much of your business" Hermione said feverishly.

"But, Hermione, we have to know!"

"No you don't!" shouted Hermione. After a lot of annoyance from the two girls, Hermione finally said, "Draco is… Draco is nice" and she left to go to the Great Hall.

"We are going to find out what's going on with her!" Lavender said.


End file.
